


trying to meet you

by morphosyntactic



Category: Venom (Movie 2018)
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-13
Updated: 2018-10-13
Packaged: 2019-08-01 16:35:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16288073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/morphosyntactic/pseuds/morphosyntactic
Summary: “And stop offering to eat anyone who's not into me. We don’t do that.”Eddie tries to get back out there. Venom is a terrible wingman.





	trying to meet you

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first thing I've written in nearly two years, and I don't know what that says about me. Thanks, Venom!

What happens once you’ve saved the world, bonded irreversibly with your parasite-alien-symbiote, bitten off just one or two heads, and lost the woman you’re pretty sure is the love of your life?

You get back out there, Eddie figures.

At the very least, he should be trying.

  


***

  
SHE IS NOT ANNE, hisses Venom over the gentle murmur of background conversation.

Eddie wants to respond — that’s the _point_ ; yes, they love Anne, but they need to accept she’s not interested anymore, or at least not right now — but he’s been trying hard lately to keep a lid on looking like he’s talking to himself. Instead of answering, he takes a nice, sensible-sized bite of his chicken and tries to pay attention.

Jenny is cute. She’s a few years younger than Eddie, just enough to make him feel old. She frequents the same coffee shop he does, which is where they started talking; she has curly hair and sharp cheekbones and absolutely no ties to shady scientific organisations. She’s telling him about grad school — how she takes herself and her laptop out to the coffee shop when she feels like she can’t take the four walls of the library any longer. She’s smart. Interesting. 

DO THEY HAVE LOBSTER HERE?

Eddie takes a few gulps of water and nods in Jenny's direction, hoping it’s an appropriate reaction to the words he just missed.

Jenny pauses in her story and tilts her head at Eddie. Her dark eyes are pretty, softly concerned as she says, “Um, are you okay? You look a little…”

Eddie makes a noise that’s meant to come out as a reassuring laugh. He misses the mark, if Jenny’s facial expression is anything to go by. “Sorry,” he says. “I’ve been, uh. A little under the weather. Guess it’s one of those bugs that lingers longer than you think it does.”

YOU BETTER NOT BE CALLING ME A BUG.

“You know how it is,” Eddie adds, a little louder than necessary. “When you get, like, a _stomach bug_ and it kinda knocks you on your ass for a while after.”

Jenny looks a kind of grossed out. But, Eddie reasons with himself, not as grossed out as she’d likely look if she knew the truth. 

The date ends early. Eddie grabs the check, but he doesn’t call again.

  


***

  
Mike Knight is Eddie’s old roommate: the first person he shared an apartment with after college, and the first guy he ever fooled around with. Always casual, but always a good time, and so when his name shows up on the caller ID on Eddie’s phone and he tells Eddie he’ll be in town for the weekend, suggests that they hang out, Eddie offers up his couch and feels a brief, low flutter of excitement in his stomach.

Then he has a stern few words with himself in the mirror.

“Mike’s a cool dude, okay?” He eyes his reflection, eyebrows raised. “Let’s not traumatise him, let’s keep it together.”

WE WANT HIM? ANOTHER DATE?

Eddie pulls a face in the mirror. “I dunno. No, it’s not a date, it’s just.” How does he explain the concept of fuck buddies from simpler times to an alien symbiote? “We’ll just see what happens.”

What happens is that they drink a few beers, kicking back in front of a football game just like old times, reminiscing.

Unlike old times, when Eddie makes his move, Mike stiffens instead of kissing him back, and then pulls away.

“Sorry, man,” Mike says. He looks kind of awkward, not meeting Eddie’s eyes, but he sounds genuinely apologetic. Like Eddie said — cool guy. “I’ve just started seeing someone. It’s early days, but, like…”

IDIOT, growls Venom. 

“Oh, hey, yeah, sure.” Eddie shifts to put a safer distance back between them on the couch, and offers what he hopes is an understanding smile, trying to focus on keeping his face looking some kind of normal over the sound of, NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR US ANYWAY, THE ASSHOLE.

“I like him a lot,” Mike adds, which Eddie thinks is maybe a bit unnecessary, but whatever. “So. You know.”

LET’S EAT HIM. BOTH OF THEM. TASTY SNACK TIME, ONE PORTION FOR EACH OF US.

“That’s awesome. I’m happy for you, man,” Eddie says. 

HAPPY TO BITE HIS HEAD OFF.

“ _No_ ,” Eddie can’t help but hiss, and has to pretend he was talking to one of the players on the TV when Mike shoots him a startled look.

  


***

  
IT’S OKAY.

“Oh, shut up,” Eddie mumbles, but there’s no heat behind it. He opens his fridge. He keeps it pretty well stocked these days - he’s still always so goddamn hungry. “And stop offering to eat anyone who's not into me. We don’t do that.”

BUT WE COULD.

“No.”

BORING. IT’S OKAY, EDDIE. WE HAVE EACH OTHER. THAT IS ALL WE NEED.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.”

AND TATER TOTS?

Eddie smiles.


End file.
